Japanese police begin autopsy of woman's body
Police investigating the disappearance of a British bar hostess have begun an autopsy to determine the identify of a dismembered woman's body.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on media reports that police strongly suspect the corpse is that of Lucie Blackman, the former British Airways flight attendant who was working in a Tokyo bar when she disappeared on July 1.
Lucie, 22, disappeared after telling a friend she was going on a drive to the ocean with a customer who promised to buy her a mobile phone.
The dismembered body was dug up near the seaside apartment of a Japanese businessman who was arrested in October and accused of drugging and raping several women, including a Canadian hostess and another Briton.
Joji Obara, 48, pleaded innocent in both cases, saying he had consensual relations with the women. He has not been charged in relation to Lucie.
Obara was allegedly a regular at expensive bars in Tokyo where European and other foreign hostesses pour drinks and make conversation with clients.
In a statement provided to the media by his lawyer after his arrest, Obara said he met Lucie only once at a bar but denied responsibility for her disappearance.
The corpse was cut into eight parts and the head was encased in concrete, police announced on Friday after unearthing it in a cave on a beach in Miura, a resort community southwest of Tokyo.
According to a report by the national Yomiuri newspaper, investigators now believe it belonged to a "large woman". Lucie was about 5ft, 10in tall.
The Tokyo police spokeswoman said investigators will attempt to identify the corpse by comparing dental records, fingerprints and the results of DNA tests.
